Blinking Owl Books, Fort Myers, Fla., which suffered flood damage earlier this fall from Hurricane Helene, forcing owner Lucile Perkins-Wagel to leave her W. First St. storefront, has reopened in a new location at 1342 Colonial Blvd, Unit C18.

In a Facebook post, Perkins-Wagel wrote: "And just like that, we're back!! We still have some things to order and move around and hang and do, so our current state of opening is one that is still in a bit of flux, however, we're FINALLY open and able to share stories with y'all at a specific location... on a consistent and regular basis... so for that, our hearts are full!

"Thank you to everyone who helped us move things, and build things, and clean things! Thank you to everyone who shopped with us in-person at one of our pop-ups! Thank you to everyone who bought books from us online, both in their physical format and their audiobook format! Thank you to everyone who bought gift cards and merch! Thank you to everyone who donated to our GoFundMe! Thank you to everyone who shared our story and told their friends, family, coworkers, and casual acquaintances about us! Thank you to everyone in the community who supported us when things were really really REALLY hard, and gave us a place to land as we were looking for our new home! Thank you for your kind words, your check-ins, and your support! 

"Thank you for all of this, and for so much more! We are so INCREDIBLY proud and thankful to be doing this work in this community here and now with all of you, and are committed to doing it for as long as we are able! Thank you for making our dreams come true!"

Total net book sales in October in the U.S. rose 8.3%, to $1.37 billion, compared to October 2023, representing sales of 1,279 publishers and distributed clients as reported to the Association of American Publishers. For January through October, net book sales rose 7.1%, to $12.1 billion.

In October, trade net sales rose 7.3%, to $1.05 billion. Among trade categories with sales gains, digital audio rose 18.7%, to $86.5 million, hardcovers were up 8.8%, to $487.9 million, mass markets rose 11.7%, to $10.1 million, paperbacks were up 6.2%, to $321.4 million, and special bindings inched up 1.5%, to $27.2 million. E-book sales declined 2.5%, to $83.9 million, and physical audio dropped 54.2%, to $800,000.

While net sales of adult fiction books rose 17.5%, to $323.7 million, adult nonfiction fell 0.5%, to $340.1 million. In children's & YA, fiction book sales rose 2.3%, to $242.3 million, while nonfiction sales rose 9.3%, to $51.6 million.

Sales by category for October 2024:

With less than a week to go until Christmas and the first night of Hanukkah, booksellers from around the U.S. offer their assessment of the holiday shopping season:

Phinney Books in Seattle, Wash., has had a fall season that has matched last year's "almost exactly," reported owner Tom Nissley, "which we're very happy with." 

Nissley described most of 2024 as a year without a single huge book that everyone needs to have. Over the past week or so, however, James by Percival Everett has started to emerge as that title, with Nissley describing it as a book that one can give to "almost any reader." His personal favorite handsell of the season, he said, is A Woman in the Polar Night by Christiane Ritter, written in 1938 and recently reissued by Pushkin Press. And "many, many people," he added, seem to want to read or re-read On Tyranny by Timothy Snyder.

Other highlights include The Backyard Bird Chronicles by Amy Tan, which has "been a hit ever since it came out," and Jonathan Blitzer's Everyone Who Is Gone Is Here, which has seen a nice boost since it was included in the New York Times' Top 10. All of Claire Keegan's "beautiful little books," including Small Things Like These, have seen boosts as well. Local titles also do well over the holidays, with two examples this season being Street Trees of Seattle by Taha Ebrahimi and Renee Erickson's cookbook Sunlight & Breadcrumbs.

Nissley noted that while shipping has been slow from some midsize suppliers, and some titles have been out of stock since early December, things have been running "relatively smoothly." And when it comes to titles being out of stock in particular, the situation is better this year than the "first couple Covid seasons."

Looking ahead, Nissley expects the end of the season to be "very busy," and hopes there isn't any severe weather right around Christmas. "Although even if there is," he said, "we'll likely stay open." The "real unknown," he continued, is "how the country, and our part of it, will respond when the new regime actually takes power in January." Priorities may change, but Nissley said he has "no idea how that will relate to publishing, and to reading."

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In Nashville, Tenn., Parnassus Books has had a very good season so far, reported general manager Andy Brennan. Sales are up a bit over last year, and the store is shaping up to have a strong fourth quarter.

Among the season's strong sellers are Be Ready When the Luck Happens by Ina Garten, Bel Canto Annotated Edition by Ann Patchett, James, Time of the Child by Niall Williams, Small Things Like These, Water, Water by Billy Collins, The Backyard Bird Chronicles, The God of the Woods by Liz Moore, What I Ate in One Year by Stanley Tucci, The Serviceberry by Robin Wall Kimmerer, Impossible Creatures by Katherine Rundell, and The Bletchley Riddle by Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin.

Brennan said the store's "biggest concerns" have been with The Serviceberry, which went out of stock shortly after its publication date, and Wind and Truth by Brandon Sanderson, which also went out of stock almost immediately. Aside from those two titles, though, "there haven't been any serious supply-chain issues."

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For Red Balloon Bookshop in St. Paul, Minn., this holiday season is the store's 40th, and owner Holly Weinkauf believes that major milestone has played a part in a "so-far successful season." At the moment, sales are up 4% compared to 2023. Things have gotten very busy in the past week, Weinkauf noted, and there is still one more weekend before Christmas. At the same time, Minnesota recently had its first big snow, "which always puts people more in the holiday shopping mood." She is expecting this year to shape up as one of the store's best holiday seasons.

Weinkauf pointed out that while Red Balloon is mainly a children's store, it does have an adult section and occasionally an adult title is the bookstore's top seller. That is the case this year with The Serviceberry. Other popular titles include Dog Man: Big Jim Begins by Dav Pilkey, Dozens of Doughnuts by Carrie Finison and Brianne Farley, The Hotel Balzaar by Kate DiCamillo and Júlia Sardà, The Man Who Didn't Like Animals by Deborah Underwood and LeUyen Pham, and The Ultimate Minnesota Cookie Book by Lee Svitak Dean, Rick Nelson, and Tom Wallace. The Wild Robot by Peter Brown and The Princess in Black by Shannon Hale, Dean Hale, and LeUyen Pham are two big backlist titles.

Asked about supply-chain issues, Weinkauf said the store did have to wait a bit for The Serviceberry to come back in stock, but more copies arrived just in time for the last two weeks of shopping. Ultimately, "things have been pretty smooth this year. Whew!"

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Leviathan Bookstore opened in St. Louis, Mo., earlier this year, so owners James Crossley and Amanda Clark have no prior holiday seasons to compare this year to. Nevertheless, Crossley and Clark are "pretty happy with how things are going in our little pop-up space." 

While Leviathan is less than a year old, both Clark and Crossley have extensive experience at other indie bookstores, and Crossley commented that "2024 might have the least holiday feel ever." Gift buying started late, he explained, and there is "less interest in Christmas books than I can remember." That said, customers have responded well to some unusual holiday titles from small presses, such as the 2024 Short Story Advent Calendar from Hingston & Olsen and the Christmas Ghost Stories series from Biblioasis.

Crossley reported that customers' interest is "divided among the celebrated titles of 2024," such as All Fours by Miranda July, James, The Serviceberry, and Playground by Richard Powers. A local book, Mapping St. Louis by Andrew Hahn, has also seen a lot of interest. And in the absence of "big breakout books," Crossley added, there haven't been major problems with the supply chain aside from some occasional shipping delays.

Thanks to the late Hanukkah, Crossley and Clark are looking forward "to a bigger-than-expected post-Christmas week." --Alex Mutter

ESG Bookstore, specializing in books on environmental and sustainability issues, has opened at 195 Nassau Street in Princeton, N.J. TapInto reported that the shop "offers newly published books for all age groups, including families and youngsters and age groups from 3 to 18 years. Books on similar topics for parents and youngsters are also available."

"There is a growing awareness of the need to adopt a sustainable lifestyle to help preserve our planet," said Trishala Bavishi, founder and CEO of ESG Best Reads, which operates the bookstore. "Further, the education and corporate ecosystems are encouraging people to learn more about ESG (Environment, Social and Governance) to meet the business targets for sustainability."

Bavishi and her husband, Vinod Bavishi, oversee the operations of the ESG Bookstore, which is located in the historic Nassau Street business district. To facilitate browsing, 10 workstations are also set up in the space. 

"A vast collection of books also caters to a range of readership profiles from different academic, professional, corporate and personal backgrounds," she said. "A special collection has been identified for vacation reading as well as for book clubs."

In addition to the bookstore, ESG Best Reads provides a platform for a Read-and-Certify certificate program that is open to high juniors/seniors, undergraduate, and MBA students as well as corporate staff. An ESG Reference Centre database is also available and continuously updated with new sustainability topics.

Margaret Frith, the retired president and CEO of the Putnam Publishing Children's Book Group, died December 11. She was 88. An editor and author, Frith was "was one of the most respected 'grande dames' of the New York publishing world," her obituary noted. 

Margaret Frith

After she completed the Radcliffe Publishing Course, she began her long career in children's book publishing with an editorial position at Macmillan. She then joined Scribner before being hired by Coward-McCann (later an imprint of Putnam). 

Frith rose to become president and CEO of the Putnam Children's Book Group, comprising Putnam, Philomel, and Grosset & Dunlap. In 1995, she stepped away from administrative duties to concentrate on editing a group of authors and illustrators as editor-at-large for Putnam at Penguin Books. 

She was best known as the longtime editor of a roster of award-winning authors and artists, including Jan Brett, Tomie dePaola, Eric Hill, Peggy Rathmann, Jean Fritz, Paula Danziger, and others.

As an author, Frith's books include Hooray for Ballet!; Frida Kahlo: The Artist Who Painted Herself; Mermaid Island; as well as several titles in the Who Was? series: Who Was Thomas Alva Edison?; Who Was Louis Braille?; Who Was Franklin Roosevelt?; and Who Was Woodrow Wilson?.

With her life-long partner, the late David Urquhart, she traveled the world extensively, often on behalf of Putnam, to London, Frankfurt, and the Bologna Children's Book Fair in Italy, where she acquired the American rights to numerous international children's books, including Eric Hill's Where's Spot? lift-the-flap book, leading to many other Spot titles.

Frith's "warmth, vibrance, and dynamism will be sorely missed by all who knew and loved her," her obituary observed. "In an ever-changing world, Margaret's steadfastness, honesty, kindness, and loyalty never changed. There is a gaping hole in the hearts of her loved ones today."

Donations in her memory can be made to the Northport-East Northport Public Library, 151 Laurel Avenue, Northport, N.Y. 11768.

There's no easy way to winnow a year's worth of books down to the best 10 fiction titles and the best 10 nonfiction titles. Nonetheless, our editors conferred with each other, our colleagues, and our reviewers to compile a list that we think is, in a word, dynamite.

Click here to see our reviews of these books. (And don't miss our Best Children's and YA Books of 2024!)

Fiction
James by Percival Everett (Doubleday)
Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar (Knopf)
The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley (Avid Reader) 
Ocean's Godori by Elaine U. Cho (Hillman Grad/Zando)
Ours by Phillip B. Williams (Viking)
Rejection by Tony Tulathimutte (Morrow)
This Strange Eventful History by Claire Messud (Norton)
Wandering Stars by Tommy Orange (Knopf)
The Women by Kristin Hannah (St. Martin's)
Your Absence Is Darkness by Jón Kalman Stefánsson (Biblioasis)

Nonfiction
The Backyard Bird Chronicles by Amy Tan (Knopf)
The Blue Mimes: Poems by Sara Daniele Rivera (Graywolf)
Cactus Country: A Boyhood Memoir by Zoë Bossiere (Abrams)
The Editor: How Publishing Legend Judith Jones Shaped Culture in America by Sara B. Franklin (Atria)
Feeding Ghosts: A Graphic Memoir by Tessa Hulls (MCD)
Grief Is for People by Sloane Crosley (MCD) 
Into the Great Wide Ocean: Life in the Least Known Habitat on Earth by Sönke Johnsen (Princeton University Press)
The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World by Robin Wall Kimmerer (Scribner)
Slow Noodles: A Cambodian Memoir of Love, Loss, and Family Recipes by Chantha Nguon with Kim Green (Algonquin)
The Wide, Wide Sea: Imperial Ambition, First Contact and the Fateful Final Voyage of Captain James Cook by Hampton Sides (Doubleday)

Posted on Facebook by Literati Bookstore, Ann Arbor, Mich.: "One of our best customers gifted us Literati cookies! Thank you, Jenny!!"

Quail Ridge Books, Raleigh, N.C., shared a photo of the bookshop's Christmas window display/pop quiz, noting: "This is how the QRB community thinks Santa gets down the chimney!"

"One more week to shop until Christmas! We are open every day until 5 p.m., including Christmas Eve," White River Books, Carbondale, Colo., posted on Instagram.

At Harper Perennial:

Megan Looney has been promoted to associate director of marketing. She joined HarperCollins in 2014 and held positions in Harper Audio and contracts before joining Harper Perennial in 2017.

Daniel Duval has been promoted to marketing associate. She joined Harper Perennial in February 2022.

---

Jazz Key has been promoted to sales manager, e-commerce, on the special markets team at Macmillan.

Vanessa Caswill (Love at First Sight) will direct Reminders of Him, based on the bestselling novel by Colleen Hoover. Deadline reported that Hoover and Lauren Levine adapted the novel, which they are producing through their production company, Heartbones Entertainment. The movie is set to release on February 13, 2026. 

The film adaptation of Hoover's It Ends With Us was a box office hit last summer. Her novel Verity "is undergoing the feature film treatment with The Idea of You duo Anne Hathaway and Michael Showalter attached to star and direct, respectively. Regretting You is also getting adapted for the big screen with Allison Williams, McKenna Grace and Dave Franco set to star among others," Deadline noted.

The Same Man by Bobby Elliott won the $5,000 Agnes Lynch Starrett Poetry Prize, which was selected by this year's judge, Nate Marshall. The collection will be published by the University of Pittsburgh Press as part of the Pitt Poetry Series on September 9, 2025.  

"Bobby Elliott's The Same Man confronts the subject of fatherhood with an honesty and tenderness rarely accorded to the typical secondary parent. In these poems, we see a pair of imperfect men reach toward each other and, indeed, toward the work of both fathering and being fathered," Marshall said. "These are the kinds of poems that truly ring of a journey toward healing and forgiveness--but not the saccharine healing we see in media that demands succinct, neat endings. These poems sing of real human healing, which is a messed up and often incomplete process, but is perhaps the holiest one we can submit to in our lives. Elliott is a bard of the familial experience. These are poems to hold tight."

Darren Bernhardt is a Canadian journalist and nonfiction writer living in Winnipeg, Manitoba, who specializes in local history and the offbeat. He is co-author of the chapbook To Kerouac and Back; co-author of the play Alison's Leather Couch; and author of The Lesser Known: A History of Oddities from the Heart of the Continent. His most recent book, Prairie Oddities: Punkinhead, Peculiar Gravity and More Lesser Known Histories (Great Plains Press, November 2024) collects historical anecdotes from middle-Canada's past, stories of what was--and what could have been.

Handsell readers your book in 25 words or less:

Bizarre, buried, and lesser-known narratives that hide in the fabric of a history woven with ghost trails, gangsters, inventions, and secret places.

On your nightstand now:

Calypso by David Sedaris, who has the ability to blend quick wit and cutting insights with tenderness and relatability.

The Language of Trees: A Rewilding of Literature and Landscape by Katie Holten. It's a gorgeous book of nature and art.

John Steinbeck's Journal of a Novel: The East of Eden Letters, which gives a fascinating behind-the-scenes of a brilliant writer's mind during the creative process.

Favorite book when you were a child:

I wasn't much of a reader as a child but was captivated in school by Ernest Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea. The novella was small enough to tackle, but the struggle-connection-respect between man and beast made me want to never let it go.

Your top five authors:

Ernest Hemingway, John Steinbeck, Jack Kerouac, Annie Dillard, Aldous Huxley. Their words have energy and beauty.

Book you've faked reading:

Henry David Thoreau's Walden. I really want to read it; I don't know why I can't get swept into it.

Book you're an evangelist for:

A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway is a romance of time and place, and of an innocence on the cusp of change, tainted by moral vices and churning emotions. It's beautiful and sad.

Book you've bought for the cover:

Jack Kerouac's On the Road. Many times, many different covers.

Book you hid from your parents:

No books. Records maybe.

Book that changed your life:

In Cold Blood by Truman Capote showed how a news story can be deepened if given the time, and how the nonfiction genre can detail the complexities of characters, relationships, and communities.

Favorite lines from a book:

"The blue-backed notebooks, the two pencils and the pencil sharpener (a pocket knife was too wasteful) the marble-topped tables, the smell of early morning, sweeping out and mopping, and luck were all you needed. For luck you carried a horse chestnut and a rabbit's foot in your right pocket. The fur had been worn off the rabbit's foot long ago and the bones and the sinews were polished by wear. The claws scratched in the lining of your pocket and you knew your luck was still there."

"I would stand and look out over the roofs of Paris and think, 'Do not worry. You have always written before and you will write now. All you have to do is write one true sentence. Write the truest sentence that you know.' So finally I would write one true sentence, and then go on from there." --Ernest Hemingway, A Moveable Feast

Five books you'll never part with:

The Grapes of Wrath (John Steinbeck), The Dharma Bums (Jack Kerouac), Never Cry Wolf (Farley Mowat), A Moveable Feast (Ernest Hemingway), and The Bell Jar (Sylvia Plath). All have left an imprint in my psyche, heart, or soul.

Book you most want to read again for the first time:

Last Exit to Brooklyn by Hubert Selby Jr. A tough read with its harsh subject matter, but poignant and real. Plus, anytime there are efforts to ban a book, that puts it squarely on my radar.

Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter Kim Christensen--who died earlier this year--takes on one of the United States' oldest youth organizations in On My Honor: The Secret History of the Boy Scouts of America, unraveling the abuse scandal that stretched for decades through the history of the Boy Scouts. Christensen's journalistic style makes for an approachable, if harrowing, narrative. Tracing the organization from its founding, On My Honor gives voice to those who have been hurt through this multigenerational trauma. And still, the extent of the abuse (its perpetration and the cover ups, handled internally, without being reported to the appropriate officials) is almost unfathomable: more than 82,000 former Scouts have filed claims against the organization, which, as Christensen notes, is seven times the number of allegations put forth against the Catholic Church over recent decades.

On My Honor outlines the problems as institutional, while it also thoroughly traces the political reach and impact of the organization. Christensen explores BSA's ties to major institutions, religious organizations, and businesses, as well as the blacklist of volunteers marked as ineligible--those who " 'through a lack of integrity or loyalty, or by moral or mental weakness, have proven themselves potentially harmful' to Boy Scouts"--a list that has been in existence from its earliest days. Christensen calls readers to examine not only how the Boy Scouts of America was complicit in youth harm for generations, minimizing accountability of perpetrators and enforcing a culture of silence, but also how other formal and informal cultural and political institutions have helped to legitimize this cover-up culture. He skillfully leads readers to question the purpose and place of a nonprofit with a federal charter if it cannot uphold the values that earned it that charter. Further, he examines the systems that help to deny the problems, or withhold justice from the victims.

On My Honor is a long-overdue reckoning, right down to what it truly means to live out the last condition of the Boy Scout Oath: to keep morally straight. Never professing a personal view in the text, Christensen instead gives space to facts, historical context, and personal experiences of survivors willing to speak to him. By doing so, he lays bare the hypocrisy inherent in the 100-plus years that this organization has held sway over the idea of who could be openly excluded and who would be quietly protected by the Boy Scouts of America. On My Honor poses big questions about the future of the BSA. --Michelle Anya Anjirbag, freelance reviewer

Shelf Talker: Journalist Kim Christensen embarks on a harrowing exploration of the sex abuse scandals that rocked an organization once thought to be a national institution.

At Green Apple Books

"It's the most wonderful (and busiest) time of the year for indie bookstores, so Hannah and Susie are repping some other bookstores across the country to spread a little holiday cheer!" Loyalty Books, Washington, D.C., posted on Facebook. "Wherever you live, we hope visiting your local indie is on your list this December."

In New Zealand, Wardini Books, Havelock North, shared bookstore dog Gus's Christmas picks, noting: "He's interested in chickens and democracy. I'm a little concerned about the inclusion of Play With Your Cat."

Indie booksellers are fully in the spirit of the season, and under the completely logical theory that there's no such thing as too many gifts, I'm continuing last week's column with more highlights from recent bookshop social media posts reflecting their spirit and creativity. Again, this is truly a brief sampling:

Cool Bookish Ideas for the Holidays
Afterwords Books, Edwardsville, Ill.: "ONE NIGHT ONLY! Join us Friday, December 20th from 6-8pm for a magical evening of bookstore browsing by lantern light. We're turning the lights down low and inviting you to enjoy the wonder of the bookstore at night.... Bring your lantern, flashlight, or other flameless illumination device and enjoy a little last minute treasure hunting."

At Otto Bookstore

Otto Bookstore, Williamsport, Pa.: "It was a wonderful Holiday Season First Friday as we had the Williamsport Civic Chorus serenade us with Christmas carols last night. This yet another annual event that we cherish. Thank you WCC!"

Viewpoint Books, Columbus, Ind.: "Magic. What else can you call a gathering of 75 book-loving buddies who gather for an hour of silent reading amidst the hustle and bustle of the holidays? Thank you for joining us and creating community together. We're not much for resolutions, but we suggest making Silent Book Club a goal for 2025. You will feel like a winner every time you join us.... Bring a book. Make magic."

Book Love, Senoia, Ga.: "We look forward to our ornament workshops all year! Thank you all who came out for these fun nights!"

Darling Reads, Horbury, U.K.: "It's peak Christmas shopping season so we just wanted to remind you that our Pay It Forward board is here for everyone and anyone to use. No awkwardness, no questions asked, just take a voucher off and spend it!"

Thunder Road Books, Spring Lake, N.J.: " Our elves are hard at work wrapping all your gifts! Thank you to all that came out to shop with us last night during the holiday soireé and entrusted us to spend this morning getting all your gifts wrapped and ready for pick up. We look forward to the next few holiday shopping weekends with you!"

Sweet Home Bookstore, Wetumpka, Ala.: "It's such an honor to be celebrating our FOURTH Dickens' Christmas with all of you this weekend!"

Damn Fine Bookstore, Lyon, France: "Thank you all for coming yesterday for this very complicated theme that I trapped myself into! It's indeed not that easy to find books with people being really snowed-in somewhere but we had some great talk anyway!"

Sidewalk Chalkboard Greetings
Farrells Bookshop, Mornington, Australia: "Making a Christmas chalkboard"

Read Between the Lynes, Woodstock, Ill.: "Happy holiday season. Brr! It's cold! Warm up here. Santa [loves] our coffee & cocoa."

Stirling Books & Brew, Albion, Mich.: "Tis the season to be reading."

Green Apple Books on the Park, San Francisco, Calif.: "Give the purr-fect gift this season with a book!!"

Paper Places Bookshop, Jasper, Ala.: "It's beginning to book a lot like Christmas."

Twice Told Tales, McPherson, Kan.: "Season's Readings."

Inkwell Books & Threads, Rockton, Ill.: "Books are the easiest books to wrap."

The Magic of Books Bookstore, Seymour, Ind.: "We can stuff your stocking."

The Story Collective, St. Joseph, Mo.: "Official bookstore of the North Pole"

Between the Lines, Goldsboro, N.C.: "You buy them a book this year...."

At Epilogue Books

Epilogue Books, Rockford, Mich.: "All I want for Christmas is you. (Just kidding. Get me books.)"

Holiday Music Bookstore Videos
Comma, a Bookshop, Minneapolis, Minn.: "The Holiday Wine & Stroll is in full swing! The carolers are always our favorite part."

Slant of Light Books, Chicago, Ill.: "So so so fun! thank you for a great night."

Chapter One, Mendham, N.J.: "Poetry books are great stocking stuffers!"

The Browsing Room Bookstore, Cleveland, Ohio: "The bookstore has transformed into toyland!!"

Bromley's Books, Marquette, Mich.: "Build a gift with @bromleysbooks."

MahoganyBooks, Oxon Hill, Md.: "It's the holidays and yes, seeing yourself reflected in ALL. THE. THINGS, remains important. Our kiddos loved taking pictures with Black Santa again this year and we had a blast watching their excitement and imagination run wild. It’s a glorious journey when you grow up and your memory bank is filled with images and moments that celebrate the very skin in you’re in."

Chapter Book Lounge, Noblesville, Ind.: "Don't wait! Hurry in to Chapter and shop for everyone on your list."

Sunday Bookshop, Dripping Springs, Tex.: "Love is in the air this holiday season. here are the top 4 best selling holiday romance books we have seen this season! grab one (or two) now."

Godmothers Books, Summerland, Calif.: "Godmothers is all dressed up for the season! Come soak in the holiday magic with us."

And what better way to end than with Twas the Night Before Christmas, bookstore edition, courtesy of Bristol Books & Bindery, Bristol, Pa.: "Twas the night before Christmas, And all through the store, Not a creature was stirring, Not even the floor.... Part 2."

Happy holidays, everyone!